A year ago today!

I really can't believe it's been a whole year since the crazy France teaching adventure began! On October 1st last year, I was entering my school for the first time not as a student but a member of staff. I remember wondering how it was all going to work out. How it would be making friends with the other teachers, how I was going to figure out where my classrooms were, what the students would be like, what kind of teacher I would be, how I would learn everything about lesson planning and making lessons interesting and overcoming the language barrier. And the hardest of all; deciphering and remembering all my student's names!

And as it always does. It all worked out. Believe me when I tell you this- it will!

To think that I was in all your positions this exact time last year. Ahh what you all must be feeling! The feeling of nervousness that always comes when you know you're about to do something great. That great scary feeling of knowing that you're doing something that you'll remember forever.

I wish all current assistants and the future assistants reading my blog right now all the best of luck for the school year ahead!

P.S: You're probably about to or have already started the paperwork process in France. Here's how to do it (well some of it!)

1. OFII- Get that visa validated (paperwork and medical visit!)
2. Get your birth certificated translated, verified and stamped!

It's TAPIF application season!

I know a lot of you are preparing your applications for TAPIF right now and I just wanted to write a quick post to answer a few questions I've been getting and just to let you all know how it was for me this exact time last year!

First, please look at these posts if you haven't already seen them. I wrote these quite a few months ago, but I think a lot of you will find them super useful when it comes to your applications, or just to ease some of your concerns or fears.

1. How do I choose my academie/region for TAPIF?
2. Advice for those applying to TAPIF

And now a few quick words from me!

All I can really add is that you should just be yourself and write honestly why you think you would make a good assistant. I know this might sound stupid and obvious, but I know that there are quite a few of you who think you don't have a chance because you don't have lots of experience and don't have a high level of French. I really believe there's so much more to it and you have more to offer than you think!

Yes, experience is important, but what is also important is that your passion and enthusiasm for teaching and France come through. Remember that half of your time is spent teaching or preparing lessons (you do more hours at home, outside of the 12 hours at the school) so being able to show that teaching is something you take at least a bit seriously is crucial. If not that, at least be really interested in different cultures, and be happy (and prepared) to share yours.

It's important, at least in my experience and where I teach, to understand and not take for granted that you (as the assistant) will probably be the only person they will meet who speaks fluent English. I feel like we're in a position, especially in smaller, poorer towns to really get them to see the world as bigger than just their town and hopefully inspire them to want to go out and see it, even if they think there's no hope.

I hope that the posts above and this little spiel has helped you all at least a little bit!

Bonne chance tout le monde!

Questions an Australian gets in the French classroom

Some of you might not know this, but I came to France as an English Teaching Assistant. This means that I help students from ages 11-15 in two colleges with their English pronunciation and grammar while at the same time sharing the Australian culture and way of life.

From the minute I started teaching, I've felt like a celebrity. Anytime I'm in class or walking down the corridor, the students stare at me and shout 'hellos', totally mesmerised that I'm this new person who speaks English. And once they find out I come all the way from Australia, a very far distant land, their minds are blown.

Being a few weeks into teaching now, the students have asked me every question under the sun. Some of my personal favourites are:

"Do you have a kangaroo as a pet?"

"Did you bring a kangaroo with you?"

"Are there lots of kangaroos everywhere in Australia? On the street jumping around?"
"Why is your name the name of a supermarket?"
"Do you have a man?"

"Does Santa Claus in Australia wear shorts instead of pants because it's too hot?"

and one other really astute observation:

"It's summer in Australia during Christmas? Where's the Christmas magic?"

It's safe to say that in the minds of French kids, Australians can be described in three simple words: kangaroos, hot and beach.

And when they asked me what comes to mind when I think of France, I replied, "snails, frogs legs and the Eiffel Tower." They all laughed!

What questions have you faced as foreigners in another country? I'd really like to read them in the comments below!

Teaching placement in Caudry!

I received an email on Friday night telling me that I've been placed at two colleges in Caudry! I'm so happy to finally find out where I'll be teaching for the next 7 months!

By train, Caudry is around an hour and half away from Lille.

As Caudry is quite far away from Lille, I'm trying to figure out where I want to live and whether or not commuting from Lille is even possible. It might be bearable if I only have to teach 2-3 days a week, but if I don't get a good schedule then it might be really difficult to commute. Hmm..

I've been looking at staying at nearby towns, the closest one being Cambrai which is around 20 minutes away. That prospect is not too appealing right now and even Douai and Valenciennes (which are more appealing because others assistants are there too) are about an hour away. Unfortunately, Caudry is really in the middle of nowhere!

The positive is that I'll be able to experience another side to France. From what I've seen and read, Caudry is a village set in quite a rural area. I'm sure this will do wonders for my French if I do end up living around Caudry or Cambrai.

Knowing my placement is just one more step towards arriving in France in September! Now, to wait for my arrêté de nomination!

Advice for those applying for TAPIF

To those of you thinking of applying to TAPIF, here are a few tips I think will help!

1. Start the application as early as possible! 

Try not to leave the application to the last minute because there are so many little things you need to include that may take you awhile to put together. For example: I had approached a professor for a reference but they were unable to do it because they were out of the country, so I had to get someone else instead. Having the leeway to get a different person and allow them enough time to write the reference was a life saver! 

Another thing to keep in mind is that the application is usually due in December/January (depending on where you're from) and at least in Australia this falls after university has finished for the year. The application is also due around the holiday period (Christmas/NewYear) which means a lot of people go away and things are closed which may make the application process more lengthy.

2. Write a great personal statement

Set yourself apart by making it clear that you're there to teach, as well as live in France. I'm sure quite a few people focus too much on living in France and how much they love the culture, the language and the people, but fail to give the teaching aspect of the program enough attention. Be different and address both; make it clear that you love France but that you also want to teach/see yourself doing teaching in the future and illustrate any relevant experience!

3. Get really used to waiting!

This is a lesson I have just learned myself and it was hard, but I think I finally have! Once you apply, you're going to have to wait until April (May/June for Australians) and it's going to really suck! But, don't worry! Everyone is waiting with you and nothing has gone wrong with your application... everything is how it should be!

I waited here a lot and this fed my daydreams of being accepted into the program and living in France until the real thing came along!

4. GO FOR IT!

It seems daunting putting your application together and knowing so many other people are applying, not to mention potentially having to move to France away from your family and friends, but not applying for it is worse than applying for it and not getting it. Put yourself out there and do it. Thinking you can't do it or you won't get it, is rejecting yourself before the program has even had a chance to reject you!

Good luck everyone!

How do I choose my Académie/Region for TAPIF?

I know a lot of you out there are thinking about applying for TAPIF or are currently putting together your application and are wondering "What académies/regions should I pick?"

What you need to remember is that you're not guaranteed to be placed in the biggest city in your region or even the region itself. Having said that, you can still improve your chances of getting what you want by choosing wisely and hoping everything falls in place!

For me, choosing my regions was the hardest part of the application, but never fear! Look below for five awesome tips that I'm sure will help you to make a decision!

TAPIF académies

1. Do I want to live in the city or the country?

If you want to improve your chances of being in or around the city choose regions that are smaller in size so that your chances of being far from the city are less likely. Regions like Strasbourg, Lille and Rouen are good bets. If being in the country or being in smaller villages is more your thing choose large regions like Orléans-Tours, Clermont-Ferrand and Poitiers which carry higher chances of being placed in smaller villages away from the big city in the region.

2. Do I want to travel?

If you love to travel like I do, choosing a region that is close to other countries you would like to visit and well-connected in terms of trains, buses and airplanes is important. Big cities within France such as Paris, Lyon, Nice, Marseille and Lille are good hubs from which you can travel abroad. Some regions are close to other countries, making it possible to take little trips on weekends without too much hassle.

For example:

• Lille is only 80-90 minutes away from London, 60 minutes from Paris, Brugge and Brussels.

• Strasbourg is only a little over 2 hours from Paris, 3 hours to Munich, Germany and Bern, Switzerland.

Overall, you should be pretty well connected no matter what region you live in, but if you would like to make the most of your time in France on weekends and not just on holidays, choose regions that are close to other cities you would like to visit!

3. What type of weather do I like?

Some people are summer lovers, others are winter lovers, so depending on your preference this should probably factor into your decision. If cold weather doesn't bother you choose regions in the North. If the sun is where you want to be, choose regions further South that have a mediterranean climate with more milder/warmer temperatures.

4. Money, money money!

As I'm sure you all know the teaching assistant salary is not going to make you Bill Gates, so choosing a region that's not heavy on the wallet will be a major consideration for a lot of you. If you're low on funds stay away from big cities like Paris and those in the South (Marseille, Nice, Montpellier) where living costs are high. Choose smaller, more quaint regions like Caen, Rouen and Rennes where living costs are more affordable. Overseas French territories like Guadeloupe, Réunion, Martinique and Guyane attract higher salaries which is something some of you might like to keep in mind.

5. How good is my French?

If a major priority for you is to improve your French then stay away from big cities where English is more widely spoken. Better language acquisition will happen in smaller cities and villages. By the same token, if your French is a little weak then stick to bigger cities where you will be less challenged and might be able to get away with less French.

I hope this guide helps you to decide where in France you want to live!

Accepted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)!

Since sending in my application to the French Embassy in December last year, I've been patiently (maybe not...) waiting to hear if I've been accepted to the program. And last night I FINALLY did!

I spent the first part of the week obsessively checking my emails and studying hard for my last exams before I graduate. I was studying late Wednesday night and had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to get an email until June...

...BUT, at around 2.20am Wednesday night/technically Thursday morning I check my email as I drift off to sleep and see that there’s an email in my inbox. Thinking nothing of it I open it and see it’s from a strange email address and read the little preview underneath:

“Dear Assistant, You have been selected by the French Embassy in Australia and the CIEP in France…”

My heart started racing a million miles an hour as I hadn’t expected to get the email at all! I was expecting to get it from 9-5 Melbourne time so it took me totally off guard!

I’ve been accepted to the Académie de Lille at the secondaire level which means I’ll probably be teaching students of high school age.  To know what exact part of the region and school I'll be teaching in, I now have to wait for the arrete de nomination, which can arrive anywhere between June and September. Hopefully it arrives sooner rather than later so I can arrive in France on time for the October 1st start date!

I'm so excited right now and I'm glad that I finally know I’ve been accepted and can now start to make plans! Finally my life isn’t all up in the air for the first time in months!

Come join me on my exciting journey to France!